


Christmas Eve With You (Let It Snow)

by BlurglesmurfKlaine



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Merry Christmas, christmas rom com au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21962131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlurglesmurfKlaine/pseuds/BlurglesmurfKlaine
Summary: It's Christmas Eve in Lima Ohio, and Kurt has a lot to do: find the perfect gift for his dad, make a life changing decision, and--after an unexpected turn of events--escort pop star Blaine Anderson around town. You know, the usual...Based off of Netflix's Let It Snow
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to you all!!
> 
> I personally celebrate Christmas and it's my favorite holiday and I've never written a Christmas Rom-Com AU so I decided last minute to write one lol. Relatively short, part one today, part two to come hopefully before the New Year!

_ Congratulations! _

_ We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts. With an acceptance rate of less than 4%, NYADA is one of the top tier schools for those wishing to perfect their _

Kurt tore his eyes away from the page and slowly drew in a deep breath. He didn’t need to keep reading. He had practically memorized the damn thing in the first hour he opened the envelope. He began folding up the acceptance letter for what must have been the hundredth time and opened his desk drawer, tucking the letter underneath some old papers where his dad would never find it.

He pulled on his coat and any other winter wear necessary to make the freezing train ride to the swap meet bearable. 

He would probably come home later and read the letter just one more time, scouring it to see if it had the answer he needed, but right now he had an elf to find.

* * *

“I’m looking for a Townhouse Moments Christmas Elf number forty-three.” Kurt explained to the man at the swap meet while this year’s crappy pop Christmas song played on in the background. “I ordered it online ahead of time, but they gave me number forty-two.”

The vendor simply looked at him with an almost bored (and definitely condescending) expression. “Listen, kid. You and every other collector out here are looking for this guy, and I don’t have him. You’re not gonna find it. Not on Christmas Eve.”

Kurt sighed, the background song seeming even more annoying than usual. Seriously, the swap meet couldn’t find any holiday music better than some lame Blaine Anderson single? “Look, I really need this figurine. My dad’s Christmas kind of depends on it.” He explained desperately.

The vendor shook his head. “Like I said, I can’t help you.”

Kurt angrily huffed and shoved the figurine he’d brought with him back in his pocket. “Merry Christmas,” he muttered under his breath before heading back to the train station. 

At least the train had a stop near the Lima Bean. There was nothing quite like sitting with a warm cup of coffee in your hands while watching the snow fall down through the frosted windows.

* * *

Blaine stepped up from the platform onto the train, immediately searching for a seat in an area that wouldn’t be too crowded. He rarely got a chance to walk through the world without being gawked at like some Zoo animal, and he wasn’t about to have that ruined by an overexcited fan.

It’s not that he wasn’t grateful for everything his fans provided him, but sometimes it got to be a bit much and he needed a moment to just… retract from all the pandemonium.

He finally spotted a somewhat secluded area and headed towards it. Before he could make it, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” a voice called out from behind him.

Blaine sighed before reluctantly turning around to face a boy, probably around his age, with pale skin and a nose slightly pinked by the cold they both just entered from.

The boy looked slightly startled, as if he had just realized who Blaine was, but remained calm.

“Look,” Blaine started. “I really don’t feel like taking any pictures right now.”

The boy pursed his lips and glared at Blaine. He then extended his hand out and Blaine looked down to see he was just returning his phone that must have fallen out of his coat pocket.

“You dropped this,” the stranger said with a bit of sting in his voice as he shoved the phone back into Blaine’s grasp.

“Oh,” Blaine replied lamely. “Sorry, I—“

Mystery boy scoffed and held up a hand to silence him. “Don’t bother.” He muttered, then turned around to find a seat. 

_ Fair enough _ , Blaine thought.

Just as Blaine was about to head back to find a seat of his own, the boy whipped around, apparently not quite done with him yet. “And by the way,” he began. “You don’t even know anything about me. I don’t care for your trashy pop music, I’m not one of your  _ Blaineiacs _ who swoons at just the mention of your name, and I’m definitely not the type of person who would just throw myself at someone just because they’re famous.”

“I never said—“

Once again, Blaine was cut off, but not by the (admittedly attractive) boy. The train suddenly jerked forward and the momentum sent the strange boy flying backwards into Blaine’s unsteady arms.

Blaine felt his breath hitch, caught off guard by the suddenness of it all. He looked down and caught the boy’s gaze, realizing he had some of the clearest crystal blue eyes Blaine had ever seen.  _ Awesome. The universe throws a super cute guy into your arms and it’s someone who thinks you’re a complete asshole. _

As soon as it happened, it was over. Before either of them knew it, the train was on its way, steady enough so that the pale boy had the balance necessary to shoot himself out of Blaine’s arms like a repelling magnet. 

His face flushed bright red and he gaped at Blaine for a moment. “I–That wasn’t—that was the train,” he said in a huff before whipping around and heading to his seat on the other side of the train car. 

Blaine followed him with his eyes the entire time.

* * *

Not even ten minutes into the ride, Kurt felt the train slowly come crawling to a stop. “No,” he pleaded under his breath. “Please, no, we’re so close to the Lima Bean,” he whined.

But sure enough, the conductor’s voice came over the intercom and loudly announced that the train would be stalled indeterminately due to the recent snowfall.

Kurt sighed and looked longingly out the window towards the Lima Bean. This was ridiculous, he could see the rooftop to his favorite coffee shop just over the snow-covered hill. There was no reason he couldn’t make it there without incident.

He drew in a steadying breath before standing up and heading towards the doors. Unfortunately, before he could completely escape the defective cab, another figure came up in front of him and unintentionally blocked his path. 

It so happened to be none other than  _ the _ Blaine Anderson. Of  _ course _ it was Blaine. Of course it was the idiot celebrity who thought everything revolved around him.

“You headed to that coffee shop, too?” Blaine asked without turning back to look at Kurt, using his clover hand to block out the morning sun as he stared off into the distance.

Anderson only kept trucking on forward as Kurt followed his lead—coincidentally, of course.

“I’m not following you,” he felt compelled to say. “I also just want a decent cup of coffee.”

Blaine gave him a charmingly warm smile and hopped off the platform into the soft snow. “Of course. Then, I suppose, you wouldn’t mind keeping me company.”

Kurt followed his lead and hopped off the train, beginning to trudge through the snow after Blaine—again, completely by chance that they were headed in the same direction.

“Fine. Just know that this is completely coincidental!”

“Deal.”

* * *

“Deal,” Blaine said. “So, uh, do I get your name? I mean, it’s only fair since you already know mine.”

“Yeah, because  _ everybody _ knows your name, right?”

“I–no-! That’s not what I meant…”

The pale boy narrowed his eyes slightly at him and looked him up and down like he was deciding whether or not to trust him. “Kurt,” he finally answered. “Kurt Hummel.”

Blaine extended his hand out and Kurt stared at it for a second before taking it. “Blaine Anderson—because I’m not going to  _ assume _ anybody knows my name anymore.” Blaine noticed the corner of Kurt’s mouth twitch up, barely noticeable. “Nice to meet you, Kurt.”

They walked on for a few moments in silence before Kurt spoke up again. “Why did you even take the train into town?” He asked.

Blaine shrugged. “I wanted to get away from the tour bus for a while. It felt  _ real _ being in there. Surrounded by real people.”

Kurt chortled. “If the train made you feel real, the Lima Bean is gonna blow your mind.”

* * *

Kurt and Blaine stood in front of the long awaited coffee shop, both staring up at the broken and incomplete sign at the top of the building. The worn out block green letters should have obviously spelled out “LIMA BEAN”, but time and weather had taken out the L.

“Say it to yourself,” Kurt instructed Blaine. “Out loud.”

“Ima Bean?” Blaine said questioningly.

“I’m A Bean.” Kurt said dismally. “Because nobody in this town is—or ever will be—anything but a tiny bean in the universe… at least, that’s what we would say growing up.”

“That’s… morbid.”

Kurt simply shrugged before heading in through the doors. “It’s the truth,” he grumbled, remembering the letter burning a hole in his desk drawer and knowing he could never ever let it see the light of day again.

The Lima Bean was empty for the time being, but Kurt knew it would be filled with McKinley high teens in no time. 

The couple silently made their way to the counter and Blaine took note of the barista who was… not exactly someone he imagined to be working at a coffee shop, but a job was a job he supposed. The barista had his head down, showcasing his unique haircut (a mohawk) while he began to take their orders.

“Welcome to the Lima Bean,” he sighed before slowly upturning his head. “What can I…” Just as Kurt had expected, Puck’s eyes grew wide upon seeing Blaine. “Get for you today…”

“Uh, Puck.” Kurt started timidly. “This is Blaine… I didn’t expect you to be here, I thought you’d be preparing for your long awaited Christmas Eve Rager?”

Puck pouted. “Uh, yeah… so my parents flight was delayed ‘cause of the snow, and they caught me setting up for the party. Decided I should come to work instead. But!” He held up his index finger and his face lit up. “I convinced Sam to let me have it here! So if you’re free tonight, just come on down to I’m A Bean.”

Kurt stifled a laugh at his friend’s wild antics. “Sure thing, Puck. Though, at this point,” he jerked his head towards Blaine. “I don’t know where this day will take me.”

“Been there… anyways, what’ll it be?”

* * *

“Order for Kurt!” Puck called out. 

It was both their orders, but they’d decided it’d be best if they didn’t use Blaine’s name. It turned out to be a good call considering the fact that a group of Titans and Cheerios walked in as soon as Kurt and Blaine sat down.

Kurt got up and shortly returned with their coffees and pastries. 

“Are you going to actually finish all that?” Kurt asked, referring to the small mountain of food Blaine had ordered including a tomato and mozzarella panini, a snowman cookie, a breakfast biscuit, and his medium drip.

“Yeah, I don’t like to waste food. It’s like a charity thing for me.” At Kurt’s unamused look, Blaine rolled his eyes and gave his real explanation. “We uh, didn’t grow up with a lot. It feels kind of wrong to throw out a meal when I remember the days we didn’t get one.”

After a moment of processing, “Oh…” was all Kurt could pathetically offer, suddenly feeling like the biggest asshole in the world.

Here he’d been, making assumptions about Blaine when he really didn’t know anything about him. Kind of the way certain football players would do to Kurt.

Okay, so Blaine had kind of come off as a presumptuous dick, but now Kurt realized he himself was making that same mistake. 

He watched as Blaine took a bite of the panini and the too full sandwich overflowed with cheese into Blaine’s upper lip. Kurt giggled. “You’ve got a little…” he pointed to his own mouth, trying to point out the stained area on Blaine’s face.

Blaine stuck out his tongue, but completely missed the area. “Did I get it?”

“Not at all,” Kurt laughed again. “But I’ll go grab you some napkins, your royal highness.”

As Kurt was standing up, Blaine opened his mouth to contest before noting the playful look on the other boy’s face.

“And add some more creamer to this bad boy while I’m up,“ He said, gesturing to his half full coffee.

Kurt was nearly to the condiment table when a hauntingly familiar figure blocked his path. 

“Where you going off to, fairy boy?”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Azimio,” Kurt scoffed, trying to side step his long time tormentor. 

Azimio followed Kurt’s move, leaving him in the same position he was not a moment ago. “Heard my boy Karofsky’s got a boyfriend over at Thurston high now.”

“Good for him.”

“That’s the farthest thing from good, my man. If it weren’t for you turnin him gay, we’d still have a winning offensive line.”

“I really don’t have any time for this,” Kurt lamented.

“Not so tough without your army brother to protect you, huh?”

Kurt opened his mouth to explain that he didn’t need anyone to protect him, but was immediately silenced by Azimio suddenly slapping the cup out of Kurt’s hand. Kurt flinched as lukewarm coffee splattered around him, the majority of it spilling right on his shirt.

“That’s for turning my best friend into a homo.”

“Hey!” Puck called from behind the counter. “Get out of here!”

“I am a paying customer!” Azimio argued.

“Read the sign, dickwad. Right to refuse service to anyone. That includes no good Lima Losers like yourself!”

Azimio rolled his eyes and angrily stormed out of the store.

As Kurt looked down his stained shirt, he could feel Blaine’s horrified stare burning right through his back. “Oh my god, Kurt. Are you okay?”

He turned around to face the other boy, still shaking with rage and that twinge of humiliation he always felt after scenes like this, no matter how hard he tried to push it down.

“You wanted real?” Kurt asked, feeling tears he would never let Azimio and Langanthal see begin to burn behind his eyelids. “How’s this? Only out gay kid in the entire town gets harassed on a daily basis—even publicly, as you just saw—finally gets an out when he gets into his dream school, and can’t even go because his dad is too sick to be left alone!”

Blaine reached out to place a comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “Kurt—“

Before Blaine could finish his sentence, Kurt heard the table full of Cheerios become more chatty than usual, and he came to a startling realization. He quickly turned around, scanning the table to see that several of the McKinley High cheerleaders were whispering to each other and pointing at Blaine.

“Shit,” he muttered before facing Blaine again. “Restroom, back window,” he ordered as the head Cheerio stood up from the table and made a beeline towards them.

“What?” 

“Just go!” Kurt ordered nudging Blaine in the right direction. 

Blaine finally seemed to notice the onlookers and started to quickly walk towards the bathroom as one of the cheerleaders walked right behind Kurt.

He spun around to face her, a fake smile on his face. “Hello, there Satan—Santana!”

“Was that... Blaine Anderson?” She asked brusquely, staring down Kurt and crossing her arms. 

Kurt raised his eyebrows before turning his head behind him to check that Blaine had made it to the impromptu escape route. He turned to Santana again and sighed, throwing his hands out in defeat. “Yes,” he said, feigning a trenchant dismay. “You caught me. Blaine Anderson is  _ here _ , with  _ me _ , at the  _ I’m A Bean _ …” Kurt scrunched up his nose and smiled wryly at her. “And if you wait a few more minutes, I’m pretty sure TuPac is going to start a flash mob!”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. As she turned around her perfectly cooked ponytail nearly whipped him right across the face. 

He watched her take a seat with the rest of the Cheerios and let out a sigh of relief before heading out to go find Blaine.

* * *

Blaine writhed and squirmed with all his might, but still wasn’t able to get enough momentum to hoist himself out of the window. He lay on his back, the top half of his body exposed to the bitter cold while the bottom half was stuck in the warmth of the I’m A Bean. The opening wasn’t big enough for him to turn around to get on his stomach. In that position, he could easily reach out for something and just pull himself out.

He he was straining to reach for the window to get some sort of leverage when he heard a giggle. And if he weren’t in the situation he was currently in, he might’ve taken more time to appreciate how beautiful that laugh was.

“Wow,” Kurt chuckled. “I wonder what TMZ would pay for a photo like this.”

“Not enough,” Blaine grunted, struggling for some sort of hand hold. “Now, are you— going to— help me— or not?”

Kurt rolled his eyes and headed over to Blaine.

He laced his arms underneath Blaine’s. “Alright,” Kurt said. “I’m gonna pull on the count of three, so brace yourself. One…”

“Wait,  _ on _ three or  _ after _ three?”

“What? Clearly  _ on _ three, Blaine.”

“Wait, did that count as three?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”

Kurt tugged and Blaine slid out of the window with ease. The momentum of the pull sent them both toppling backwards—Blaine’s entire body on Kurt—towards the ground.

They hit the frozen ground with an “oof,” and immediately bust out into a fit of laughter.

“That went well.” Kurt giggled.

Still laughing, Blaine turned his body to face Kurt. “Yeah, we’re the epitome of grace.” 

They settled into a surprisingly comfortable silence, both warmed by being in the other’s embrace. After a moment, Kurt cleared his throat and shifted backwards,as if he’d just realized the position they’d fallen into. He shuffled to his feet and brushed off some snow from his pants. “So, um, it was so nice—and super random and bizarre—to meet you,” Kurt said, shaking his head. “But I have to go. I have… things to do.”

Kurt headed off in the direction of his next destination, but not without Blaine following close behind. “Like what?”

“Like go meet my dad to watch my Jewish best friend play mother Mary in a multicultural holiday play. “

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Fine, don't tell me.”

“Oh, I only wish I were joking… Whatever, I have other things to do. Important things.”

“Like what?” Blaine pried again, hoping it was something he could accompany Kurt to. He was intrigued by him, and wanted to get to know him better.

“Like make the biggest decision of my life!” Kurt finally snapped, whirling around to face him. Blaine wondered for a moment if he had been too intrusive before Kurt deflated, like a cat un-bristling its tail. “I got into NYADA. It’s one of the best schools in the country for musical theatre, but it’s in New York and I can’t go.”

Blaine thought back to the incident that happened moments before he had nearly been discovered, then back to when he first met Kurt. No wonder Kurt was so wary of him. 

“Because of your dad.”

Kurt gave a meek nod of confirmation. “He had a heart attack last year that put him in a coma for a few days, and now, he has… cancer… and we don’t know which way it’s going to go… I asked NYADA for a deferral, but they said I would lose my scholarship.” 

They both stayed silent for a moment, neither quite knowing what to say after that. “Sorry for the huge downer,” Kurt mumbled. “I just… haven’t said that to anyone yet. Aside from kind of yelling it at you in the I’m A Bean a few minutes ago… Anyways,” he started up again, turning from Blaine and heading off into the snow covered terrain. “Merry Christmas, I gotta go.”

Blaine continued to trudge after him. “What, where?”

“I told you, multicultural nativity play.”

Blaine caught up with Kurt and sent him his most charming grin. “Sounds fun.”

* * *

“A hundred and fifty six piece elf village?” Blaine asked in astonishment as he and Kurt walked through the underpath of some trees.

Kurt let out a dry laugh. It sounded even more ridiculous aloud. “Some people’s dads collect coins, or artisan beer bottles; mine collects elves and their homes… So, what are your plans for the holidays?”

Blaine just gave him a halfhearted shrug. “I’ll probably just stay in the hotel room.”

“Christmas Eve in a hotel room?”

“I travel a lot. I’m used to it.”

“And I’m used to getting harassed by idiot meatheads, that doesn’t mean I  _ like _ it.”

Blaine barked out a laugh, making Kurt’s stomach flip involuntarily. “I guess, just once… I’d like to stay in one place for a little while.”

_ Well, Lima isn't the worst place to spend Christmas Eve _ , Kurt nearly said before stopping himself and realizing he would look like a total creep if he did. He lightly shook his head, trying to bring himself back to reality.  _ Head out of the clouds, Hummel. He probably has a girlfriend on the tour bus waiting for him. _

“So why does your dad like Christmas so much?” Blaine asked, breaking Kurt out of his thoughts.

“Oh. I think… I think it’s because my mom passed away between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” He took note of the sympathetic look on Blaine’s face before continuing. “So now I think he wants to make Christmas this big and spectacular thing… for me, I guess. I used to love the little figurines when I was little, because I kind of looked like them. My mom decided to start collecting them a few weeks before she died.” 

“I’m sorry about your mom,” Blaine said, adding a gentle hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “But that’s pretty sweet of your dad.”

“Yeah… I guess it is.” Kurt smiled warmly. “He’s a great dad.” 

The two boys finally reached the peak of the hill. The view overlooked a beautiful wintry scene, complete with frosted evergreen trees and a meadow blanketed in fresh pillowy snow.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Kurt scoffed. “Snow can hide a lot… it’s like the spanx of weather…” Blaine laughed and another comfortable silence fell between them for a moment. “So, where did you grow up?”

“New York. Queens. Growing up, you had to be tough and my brother was… I, on the other hand, was a little more sensitive… and I think that came off as weakness to the other kids.” Blaine shrugged it off. “But it was okay because I always had music.”

Kurt nodded and smiled understandingly. “I know exactly what you mean. The only thing that keeps me sane around here is the glee club. When I’m not singing, I don’t really feel… whole. It’s like—“

“Like you’re barely even a person.”

Kurt let out a little puff of air in astonishment. “Yeah… kind of exactly like that…” As they tread on, Kurt could hear the sound of ice softly crunching beneath their feet. “So uh, what do your parents think about your job?”

Blaine let out a short laugh that felt just the tiniest bit bitter. “Well, my mom supports me but… My dad doesn’t think performing is a real job. He’s really strict. He wasn’t too happy when I came out to him either, but he got over it… sort of.”

Kurt snapped his head up to look at Blaine, eyes wide as he processed the words he just heard.  _ Came out _ , as in… “Wait a second, you’re…”

A smile tugged at the corner of Blaine’s lips. “Queer as a three dollar bill.” As soon as it was there, it faded. “But uh, it’s not something I advertise, you know? My dad thinks it’s better—safer, if I don’t.”

Kurt cocked an eyebrow, doing his best to push down the butterflies raging in his stomach. “Like a safer career move?” Why would Blaine’s dad care about his career if he didn’t even think it was valid?

Blaine shook his head. “When I was in middle school, before my first album, I went to a Sadie Hawkins dance with a friend; the only other gay guy in the school. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up, these three guys came and beat the crap out of us.”

In an instant, Blaine felt Kurt’s hand on his. “I… I’m so sorry.”

“I uh, never pressed charges or anything. Just transferred and never looked back, which made sense at the time, but now I just regret not standing up to them.” Blaine looked right into Kurt’s crystal blue eyes as he came to a stop. “So if you ever get the chance to do what I didn’t, you should take it.” 

* * *

They lumbered on through the snow, finally reaching the peak of a hill with a gentler slope than the last one. 

Families stood huddled together while groups of children, wrapped up tighter than the presents under their trees, waddled to sleds and rode down the hill.

Kurt watched a smile crack Blaine’s face and he narrowed his eyes with a light suspicion. “What are you smiling at?”

“We should go sledding.”

“We don’t have a sled..?”

Blaine just picked up his pace to a light jog and headed towards a group of women huddled together. He faced Kurt, but kept up his jog in a backpedal. “Young moms; kind of my bread and butter.”

Kurt huffed out a laugh as he looked on at Blaine introducing himself to the star struck mothers. He offered to take a few selfies with them before shortly returning back to Kurt with—lo and behold—a sled.

A minute later they were at the edge of the slope and Blaine settled himself behind Kurt. Kurt felt his heart racing and if he was being completely honest, he couldn’t tell if it was because of the dropoff or the way Blaine was pressed flush against his back, his arms wrapped snug around Kurt’s waist so that he could take hold of the reins.

Blaine started to scoot the sled forward and Kurt felt his nerves kick in. “Wait!” He cried out.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just… despite living in a snow covered town for eighteen years, I’ve never  _ actually _ been sledding before.”

Blaine leaned forward and rested his head in the space between Kurt’s head and shoulders. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”

Kurt had absolutely no reason to believe Blaine—considering the short time they’d known each other—but for some reason, he found that he did. He believed he’d be safe with Blaine because he already felt safe with him. Safe enough to tell him about his mom, safe enough to confide in him about his dilemma with his dad, and now, safe enough to go sledding for the first time.

He nodded and felt himself pressing his cheek closer to Blaine’s. Blaine pushed them forward and off they went, down the gentle curve of the hill.

The air started rushing quicker and quicker against Kurt’s face, until they were riding at an enjoyable speed. Kurt felt Blaine’s arms close in a little tighter around him and he turned his head to smile back at the other boy, who graciously returned it. 

The smiles were wiped clean off their faces when they faced forward once more and suddenly came into contact with a bump in the hill that sent Blaine tumbling backwards with an “oof.” Kurt managed to stay on, panic rising as he realized he had no control of the sled.

“Oh no. No no no,” Kurt yelped as he approached the sharp incline of a snow bank, unable to do anything to slow down or avoid the oncoming collision.

The sled went up the ramp and Kurt went flying, landing hard on a cleared path of snow he didn’t even have time to recognize as the road. He heard a harsh noise in the distance while he groaned and tried to gather himself. Kurt finally made it to his feet and the (now much louder and closer) noise finally registered as the revving of an engine from an oncoming car that was coming down way too fast for this weather.

The car seemed impossibly close and Kurt wasn’t sure he’d make it out of the way in time. 

Out of nowhere, Blaine came racing across the road and practically tackled Kurt to the safety of the other side of the road.

The curly haired boy lay with his body pressed warmly against Kurt’s for a moment before clearing his throat and rolling off to the side.

Kurt let out a breath (of relief or disbelief, he really couldn’t tell) and watched it wisp away into the cold air. After the initial shock faded, Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine, who lay next to him looking just as dazed. 

Of all the things he expected to do after a situation like this, feeling a smile start to curl on his lips definitely wasn’t at the top of the list. But Kurt took one look at Blaine’s (horrified) honey colored eyes and couldn’t help but think how ridiculous this whole situation was. Before he could help himself, he exploded into a fit of laughter.

Kurt felt an unfamiliar tingle in his chest—something light and warm, that he maybe only had a memory of. As his laughter grew and he watched a smile spread on Blaine’s lips, the glow spread down through his arms and legs and all the way down to his toes until his entire body felt sunny, despite being surrounded by mounds of snow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Happy last day of Christmas! To celebrate here's the second part of this thing lol. Happy New Year, engage with zorp!

“Listen,” Kurt started right as he and Blaine finally made their way to the church where the play would be held. “My dad doesn’t know about NYADA.”

Blaine raised his eyebrows. “You haven’t told him yet?”

“No… I think he might try to make me go. So I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention anything.”

Blaine nodded in silent agreement. After all, he’d only know Kurt for a few hours, and it’s not someone’s place to comment on someone else’s life decisions like that, especially if they’d just met.

He and Kurt made their way to the lobby of the church where a burly man with a marsh green baseball cap stood waiting for them with a large paper bag in his arms. 

“Ah, I can see why you needed that clothes now…” the man said, pointing out Kurt’s still stained shirt. “But, uh, what’d you need some of Finn’s clothes for?”

Blaine figured that was his cue and stepped out from behind Kurt. “Uh, dad… meet Blaine,” Kurt introduced them.

Kurt’s dad extended his hand out for Blaine to take it, which he did graciously. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Right back at ya,” Burt said, eyeing Blaine up and down before nodding approvingly at his son. “So do you know Kurt from school?”

Kurt and Blaine exchanged amused looks. “Uh, no…” Blaine chuckled.

Burt narrowed his eyes slightly. “You know, you do look sort of familiar. Has anyone ever told you you look like that singer? His name gets away from me, but he kind of smiles like he had some gas station sushi an hour ago and it’s just hitting him.”

Kurt’s eyes widened in horror, his face reddening with embarrassment. “Dad!” He cried out.

“What?” Burt furrowed his eyebrows confusedly.

His son jerked his head in Blaine’s direction and pointedly raised his eyebrows. Burt seemed to get the message. “Oh… it’s… it’s not  _ all _ the pictures.”

“I’ll uh, make sure to let my publicist know about that one,” Blaine laughed lightly.

The show started promptly on time, and as they watched, Kurt gave a bit of background information on Rachel. She was Jewish, yet about halfway through the program, she stood on the stage dressed as the Virgin Mary singing a  _ very _ dramatic rendition of O Holy Night.

Overall, it was probably the weirdest, most ridiculous, and all around best thing Blaine had witnessed that holiday season. He looked over at Kurt—who seemed to be watching his friend on stage with a strange combination of amusement and embarrassment—and realized that  _ weird, ridiculous, and best thing ever _ seemed to be the recurring theme for today.

“Am I going to get to meet the star of the show?” Blaine asked when the show finally conceded and cast members made their way to meet audience members.

Kurt instantly barked out a laugh. “Oh god no. I love Rachel, but if she sees you, she will make the biggest scene on earth.” He jerked his head towards Burt. “You can go hide away with my dad. He only has so much energy, and Rachel is… a lot, so he avoids her when he can.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, turning around just as Rachel came bounding up to Kurt.

“Who’s that?” He heard Rachel ask, lightly laughing to himself as he followed Burt out to the car.

* * *

Kurt walked into the warm familiarity of his home. He supposed that there could be worse places to be stuck in. At least in Lima, he’d be with his dad and Carole and Finn when he had time off from the army. He wouldn’t have to pay rent for as long as he lived at home, and he was already familiar with the city, so he wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of having to learn any new and exciting routes to the dorm room he would never get to see…

Yeah, this was for the best.

“Your home is beautiful, Mr. Hummel.” Blaine commented, snapping Kurt back to reality.

“Thanks kid, it keeps us warm. And you can call me Burt. I’ll be in my room, getting a little Christmas Eve nap in before Finn and Carole get home. The meds and all that traveling kind of took a lot out of me today. Just knock if you need anything.”

Blaine watched Kurt’s face instantly become a hundred times more concerned. “No, if you need anything come get me, right away.”

Burt rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively. “Alright, alright.”

“I’m serious, dad. Anything at all…”

Kurt’s dad sighed relentingly. “Okay… I will. Now, you two go and hang out, do that Netflix and chill thing everyone is talking about.”

Blaine barked out a laugh while Kurt’s face reddened more that he thought humanly possible. “Oh my  _ god _ . Do not use slang anymore, please.”

“What? Isn’t that what it’s called when it’s snowing out and you put on a movie?”

Kurt dragged a hand down his face and shook his head. “No, dad… that’s not what it means at all.”

Burt just shrugged it off and pointed to Blaine. “You go ahead and make yourself at home, kiddo,” he said before retiring to his room.

“You’ll have to excuse my dad,” Kurt chuckled nervously as he led Blaine down to his room. “He’s a bit… out of touch.”

“Everyone’s parents are, don’t even sweat it… so who are Finn and Carole?”

“My step-brother and step-mom. Finn enlisted in the army the day he turned eighteen. He was lucky enough to get his first Christmas off, but the snow is pretty rough, so I assume Carole is stuck waiting for his delayed flight at the airport.”

“Do you miss him?”

Kurt sighed. “Every day, but it was something he felt he needed to do, and no force on earth was going to stop him.”

_ Isn’t that how you feel about going to NYADA? _ Is what Blaine would have said if it weren’t completely and utterly inappropriate.

They finally passed through the threshold into Kurt’s room and the paler boy extended out an arm. “So, uh, this is my room.”

Blaine immediately noticed the electric piano and guitar set up on the wall by a window. He pointed out the area. “You play?”

Kurt snorted and plopped down onto the bed. “A little, not very well. Piano more than the guitar.” He gestured to the instruments. “Go ahead, help yourself.”

Blaine shrugged, feigning reluctance. “I mean, if you’re okay with a trashy pop musician taking a look at it,” he said, sending a playful smile towards Kurt.

Kurt turned his head towards Blaine, looking mildly horrified. “Oh… I’d forgotten… I hope you know I didn’t really mean that.” 

“It’s okay if you did… I don’t write the stuff they put out on the radio,” he said halfheartedly. “My manager thinks the stuff I do write won’t sell.”

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows together. “Well that’s crap. It’s your voice, you should be able to use it to tell your music. 

Blaine offered up an appreciative smile. “Thanks. Nobody’s ever told me something so… aggressively nice.”

“Can I hear something?” Kurt asked a bit timidly. Blaine looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “Like, something you’ve written.”

“Uh, sure,” Blaine said with a hesitant excitement. Nobody had ever bothered to ask what he had been working on. Everyone he met just wanted so ask about the songs on the radio. 

He reached out for Kurt’s guitar and rested it on his knee. “It’s a little short… I haven’t been working on it that long.” He Just received an encouraging nod before taking a deep breath and plucking the strings in arpeggiated chords.

**_All I’m asking for is a day  
_ ** **_Twenty four hours is all it would take  
_ ** **_I wanna know what that’s like  
_ ** **_A day in the life of  
_ ** **_Somebody in yours_ **

As soon as he finished, Blaine could feel Kurt staring at him and wondered if his heart was racing just as quickly as his own. 

“Wow… that was really good,” Kurt said a bit breathlessly. “How long have you had that sitting in your back pocket?”

Blaine turned to Kurt and felt his eyes involuntarily dance down towards Kurt’s lips before meeting his gaze once more. “Would you believe me if I said a few hours?”

Before Kurt even had a chance to respond, the sound of the front door opening followed by a familiar voice calling, “Guess who’s back!” rang through the house and brought Blaine back to reality.

The reality where he was leaving this town in a few hours, never to return. Meanwhile, Kurt—smart, funny, kind,  _ Kurt _ —who deserved so much more that this town could offer him, would spend Christmas Day here. And possibly even the remainder of all his Christmases.

“That’s, um… they’re here.” Kurt mumbled, still staring at Blaine. “We should—I should…”

“Yeah, uh. Yeah.” Blaine agreed, nodding fervently. He could feel heat start to crawl up his neck and realized that Kurt’s brother may have come just in the nick of time.

Kurt started towards the front door and Blaine immediately followed. As they turned the corner into the living room, they were greeted with the sight of a woman standing by the open door, scraping her boots on the outdoor mat. 

As soon as she was in, a familiar lumbering figure stepped out from behind her. 

Kurt broke out into a huge smile and rushed towards them. “Hey, Carole.” He hugged her quickly before turning to Finn, who had his arms outstretched already.

“Hey little brother,” Finn said.

Kurt practically tackled him in a hug, completely ignoring that Finn still called him “little brother,” despite the fact that they were basically the same age.

“I’m so glad you made it!”

“I would never miss Christmas!”

Kurt pulled back and twisted his mouth. “I’m not sure you’ll always get that choice, considering the profession you’ve chosen.”

Finn just shrugged. “Well, I’m here now. That’s all that matters.” He turned to Burt, who had come out from his and Carole’s room. “Burt, good to see you.”

After enveloping his step father in a bear hug, Finn finally seemed to notice the curly haired boy standing behind Kurt. His eyes impossibly widened. “Holy crap… is that…?”

Kurt stepped to the side to reveal Blaine’s presence. “Finn… this is Blaine…”

Finn let out a startled laugh. “Well, Christmas Eve just got super interesting.”

* * *

**_Santa Claus is coming to town  
_ ** **_Santa Claus is coming to town  
_ ** **_Santa Claus is coming to town_ **

Finn, Blaine, and Burt sang along to Rick Springsteen’s rock version of the Christmas classic while Kurt and Carole looked on adoringly. 

“You guys are pretty good,” Blaine commented. “I can see where Kurt gets his singing talents from.”

“You’ve heard him sing?” Burt asked.

Kurt shot Blaine a panicked look, silently reminding him to not let anything slip about his college acceptance letter. 

“I uh, no,” Blaine lied. “But, he mentioned he was in his school’s glee club, and I’ve been dying to hear him sing since then.”

“Well, now’s as good a time as any. You two should sing together,” Burt suggested, pointing between his son and Blaine.”

Kurt sent him a horrified glance. “Dad!” He whined, then looked apologetically over at his friend. “Sorry, we don’t have to—“

“It would be my pleasure to sing with you, Kurt.” He shrugged coyly. “What should we sing?”

“Something festive!” Finn insisted. “Christmas music only.”

“Well, if Blaine can keep up,” Kurt grinned cheekily while his family teased him with  _ oooohs _ . “There's a pretty snazzy duet version of Let It Snow.”

Blaine leaned his body in closer to Kurt while Finn quickly set up the Bluetooth speaker and found the track from his phone. “You had me at duet.”

The intro started with a light and floaty woodwinds sound, then transitioned into a jazzier big band accompaniment. Blaine started with the first verse, and Kurt followed with the second.

**Oh the weather outside is frightful  
** **But the fire is so delightful  
** **And since we’ve no place to go  
** **Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow**

Blaine quickly got up from his seat and danced over to where Kurt was. He extended his hand, offing a dance, and Kurt took it as he started the next verse.

He draped his arm around Kurt’s shoulder and began side stepping with him, mimicking 50’s style dancing.

_ It doesn’t show signs of stopping  
_ _ And I’ve brought some corn for popping  
_ _ The lights are turned way down low  
_ _ Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow _

They both came in for the bridge section.

_**When we finally kiss goodnight** _   
_**How I’ll hate going out in the storm** _   
_**But if you really hold me tight** _   
_**All the way home I’ll be warm** _

_**Oh the fire is slowly dying** _   
_**And my dear we’re still goodbying** _   
_**But as long as you love me so** _   
_**Let it snow, let snow** _

_**Let it snow do do do do duh da da** _

As the two boys began the scatting breakdown section, Burt gently rose from his armchair and danced on over to Carole. She laughed when he offered her his hand and the older couple began dancing along to the music.

Holding Kurt securely in his arms, Blaine looked around the living room that was just glowing with hearth. Finn, perched on the armrest of the loveseat, Burt and Carole, holding each other and jauntily swaying together. And of course, Kurt, pressed up against Blaine’s side and smiling brighter than he had all day.

Kurt lifted his chin to share his smile with him, and Blaine wondered if his heart had stopped beating, or if it was just pounding so hard he couldn’t feel it anymore.

He loved his own family, truly, he did—and he knew they loved him. But right then, he had a moment of clarity; a moment when he said to himself  _ Oh,  _ **_this_ ** _ is what I’ve been looking for forever. _

No, he hadn’t known Kurt for very long, but he felt that they had some connection that could last longer than this day, given the chance.

Blaine suddenly noticed the smile fade from Burt’s face as the older man slowly put a hand to his chest as if trying to regulate his breathing.

Carole froze, planting her hands firmly on her husband’s shoulders. “Burt, honey, is everything alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I—“ Kurt’s sad winced and groaned a bit, his knees buckling.

“Mr. Hum—Burt!” Blaine hurried to the older man while Kurt mirrored him. Burt became just the slightest bit heavier on Blaine’s arm as he and Kurt helped him to the nearby chair.

Burt rested against the recliner and shut his eyes tight, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

“Is there anything I can get for you?”

“I—I’m fine,” he insisted, waving a dismissive hand. He finally opened his eyes and smiled weakly back at everyone crowded around him. “I just got a little tuckered out, that’s all.”

Blaine let out a sigh, his breath still shaky. The event left him with his pulse up and his adrenaline racing. And he barely knew Burt. He couldn’t imagine what things would be like if this had happened to someone he loved. Kurt must have been going through hell.

Speaking of which, Blaine looked up from Burt’s side and realized that Kurt was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Kurt burst into his room and immediately began pacing aimlessly around it, worrying his nails between his teeth. He’d never felt so  _ useless _ . His dad was dying and there was nothing he could do about it except watch helplessly. He inhaled and exhaled a few times to try and force the tears building up behind his ears back down.

“Kurt…” he heard a timid voice from behind him and quickly wiped at his eyes. “Are you okay?”

Kurt slowly swiveled around to face Blaine and tried to answer as calmly as he could. “I’m fine,” he tried, but based on Blaine’s twisted mouth of concern, he had heard the crack in Kurt’s voice.

“I know—“

“That’s just it!” Kurt snapped. “You don’t know. You don’t know anything about me because in case you forgot, we met ten hours ago!”

Blaine could have snapped right back at him, but he was just calm and collected—something that Kurt envied and admired at the same time. “I know that you are too smart for a town like this. That you’re  _ aching _ to get out of here. I know that you are compassionate and funny and the greatest person I think I’ve ever met… I understand things are difficult.”

“I don’t think you do, Mister _Christmas In A Hotel_ ,” Kurt lashed out. “I think things come pretty easy to you. You get to just prance through my town like a zoo, and head right back to your perfect life… I think you let things roll right off your back.”

“Well they don’t.” Blaine said, calmly but firmly. “Do you know why? Because I’m a  _ person .” _

Those last four words were all it took for Kurt to surrender into silence. He’d been taking out his frustration at Blaine because it was easy. It was easy to yell at someone who seemingly had everything when it felt like you had nothing. But Kurt was reminded that things aren’t always as clear cut as they seem.

“I get it,” Blaine continued. “To some people I’m this joke, or fantasy, or whatever… but I have feelings. You know, I haven’t even been happy in a while. Not until today. It felt good this afternoon, being with you. The universe threw you into my life, and I just took it without question.” Blaine took a step closer to Kurt and Kurt felt his heartbeat quicken in pace. “Why do you think someone is alone on Christmas Eve?”

Kurt swallowed and mirrored Blaine, also taking a step forward. “Because they’re releasing an album?”

“Or maybe they don’t have anywhere better to be. Maybe their family decided that going on tour during Christmas time ‘wasn’t for them’,” he added, using air quotes for emphasis. “Maybe… maybe the hotel is the best option,” he added lowly, taking yet another step closer to Kurt. “Or at least it was until you came around.”

Before he could stop himself, Kurt was reaching out and cupping Blaine’s cheek. He tugged gently, bringing them closer and closer together until their foreheads were resting on each other, chests rising and falling in sync. After what seemed like an eternity, Blaine started to hesitantly lift his chin up in an attempt to place his lips on Kurt’s.

The sound of the door doorbell abruptly cut him off before their lips had the chance to meet. Both boys stood frozen in their intimate positions, hearts still racing while Carole called them down.

“Uh, Kurt, honey. I think it’s for your… friend.”

Kurt was the first to break his position, and Blaine followed soon afterwards. 

It was for the best. Realistically, this thing with Blaine could never go anywhere—not when he would constantly be away on tours in big cities while Kurt was… here. This was the universe shutting down that option before it had the chance to let him down. 

Still, he couldn’t help but think he would have liked to make that decision for himself.

“We should… go check that out,” Kurt finally said.

Blaine nodded and followed Kurt down the stairs. There, they were greeted by a high class looking woman with blonde hair and a thick brown faux fur coat. She let out a sigh of superficial relief when she finally peeled her eyes away from her phone. “Oh, thank god, you’re alive.”

Blaine raised his brows. “Janet,” his voice lilted with surprise. “How… how did you know I was here?” 

“I’m your manager, I know how to find people… also, I just checked your location on find my friends.” Janet faced her palms upward in a questioning motion. “What the hell are you wearing?”

“My other clothes got wet… from the snow.”

“You were  _ walking? _ In  _ this _ weather? If you get a cold, the tour company will have my—Oh, never mind. Come on, the bus leaves bright and early back to New York first thing in the morning.”

Blaine nodded solemnly. “Sure, I just… can I say goodbye first?”

“Yeah, but please make it quick, if you could.”

He turned to face Burt, Carole, and Finn. “Thank you, all for so graciously inviting me into your home.”

“Anytime, kiddo,” Burt replied. “If you’re ever in town and wanna stop by, we’ll have another fresh set of Finn’s pants waiting for you.”

A radiant smile broke Blaine’s face before he turned to face Kurt.

The paler boy swallowed hard and gently took Blaine’s hands in his own. “I’m going to really miss you,” Kurt managed to choke out with a great deal of effort.

Blaine didn’t say anything at first. 

A second later, he pulled on Kurt’s hands and brought their bodies close together in a warm hug. Blaine’s breath against Kurt’s ears sent a shiver down his spine, but the words that came with it made tears dam up behind his eyelids.

“You should go to NYADA,” Blaine whispered.

And just as soon as he was there, Blaine was gone.

* * *

“My mom is making hot chocolate.”

Kurt looked up from tracing idle shapes on his bedsheets with his fingers to see Finn standing in his doorway, leaned up against the edge of the frame.

“Oh, cool,” Kurt mumbled without any trace of enthusiasm. “Let’s go get some.”

Finn held out his hand as Kurt tried to head from his bed to the kitchen. “Just… hold on a second, I asked your dad to bring it by when it’s ready. I wanted to talk.”

Kurt raised a skeptical eyebrow at his brother. “You—Mr. ‘Deny my offer of warm milk and lady chat every night for two years’—want to  _ talk?” _

Finn sank down onto the mattress next to him. “You liked him, didn’t you?” 

Kurt looked up at Finn with eyes glistening with tears threatening to fall. “I  _ really _ liked him…” he admitted. “But it was just one day… besides, he’s going back on tour and I’ll be here... in Lima, Ohio… greatest city in the world.” He added, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You know, you don’t have to stay, Kurt.” Finn started encouragingly. “Even if you don’t get into NYADA, there are plenty of other schools in New York, or Chicago, or hell, even Columbus would—“

“I got into NYADA.” Kurt blurted out.

The air between the brothers was still for a moment before Finn’s jaw dropped and he leapt up from the bed. “You got int—!”

Kurt soon sprang up after Finn, hurriedly clapping a hand over his brother’s mouth and shushing him. “Keep it down!” He pleaded. “I… I haven’t told my dad yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t  _ go _ , Finn. My dad hasn’t gotten any better lately, as we just saw an hour ago. someone needs to take care of him.” 

“My mom can look after Burt.” 

“And who’s going to look after her?” 

Finn looked at Kurt with the most dumbfounded look. “She took care of me all on her own for seventeen years. I think she’ll be fine, Kurt.”

“I know, I know,” Kurt sighed and gnawed on his bottom lip with his teeth. “But my dad has given me everything. How selfish of me would it be to leave him here when he needs me the most just because I got a full ride to NYADA?”

The sound of ceramic clattering coming from the nearby hallway caused Kurt to whip his head in that direction. His eyes widened frantically when they saw Burt standing in the open doorway, the mugs of hot chocolate he was bringing up to the boys now thrown at his feet.

“You got into NYADA?”

Kurt swallowed. “Dad—“

Burt immediately rushed in and wrapped his son in a hug. “You got in! Oh my god!” He pulled away and looked into his son’s fearful eyes. “How long have you known? We should’ve thrown you a going away party weeks ago!”

“That’s just it, dad…” Kurt responded. “I’m not going anywhere. At least, not until you’re better.”

Burt’s eyes widened in surprise, then his expression changed to a more contemplative one. He turned to Finn. “Finn, buddy… will you uh, give us a moment please?”

Finn nodded and obliged.

With a heavy sigh, Burt turned to his son again. “Kurt, you’ve been talking about leaving Lima since the day you were able to speak. You’re telling me, that seventeen years later, you’ve changed your mind? What gives?”

“Nothing _gives,_ dad,” Kurt grumbled with a hint of defensiveness. “I just don’t think it’d be right for me to leave you in your condition.”

“My condition is what it is.” Burt added firmly. “This cancer’s staying or going no matter what you decide. I know you’re smart enough to piece that together yourself. Are you scared? Of being in a big city? Because that’s okay.”

“It’s not… it’s not the city.” Kurt answered slowly as the pressure in his head began to build.

“Then tell me, why are you so convinced that you need to stay in Lima?” Burt prodded.

The build up of pressure in Kurt’s head finally broke, and he felt tears spill from his eyes. “Because I wasn’t  _ there _ , dad,” Kurt cried. “When mom died… That drunk driver came out of nowhere. She died all alone, and if…” he looked up at his dad with fearful eyes, red and wet. “I can’t let you be alone,” he finally croaked out.

Burt sat there in astonished silence for what felt like an eternity to Kurt. Finally, he took in a deep breath and answered his son.

“Listen to me, kiddo,” Burt said firmly and directly at his son. “This is the third time I’ve had to stare death right in its ugly eye. Do you think each time I come back from something like that walking on eggshells? Of course not.”

“But why not?” Kurt asked, flabbergasted. “Why  _ shouldn’t _ something like that scare the crap out of you and make you a little bit more cautious, a little bit more wary of jumping headfirst into the deep end of life?”

“When I came out of that coma last year, the first thing I thought of was you. The next was Carole, and how if I hadn’t have made it, the only regret I would’ve had was not making her my wife… A week in a coma and all it did was make me realize that life is meant to be  _ lived . _

“You can’t spend your life waiting around for things that may or may not happen—good or bad. Especially you, kid. You are way too talented and way too young to spend your life waiting on me… ultimately, the decision is yours. But do you really think putting your life on hold is the best option?”

Kurt’s face crumpled and he buried his face into his dad’s chest. “I want to go,” he sobbed. “God, I want to go, get out of this town so badly.”

Burt let his son sit there for just a moment before pulling back and looking Kurt right in the eye. “Then  _ go _ .”

* * *

Kurt knocked on Finn’s open door and leaned against the frame. “Knock knock.” 

His brother turned around in his computer chair with an expectant expression.

“Did you hear Puck’s having a party at I’m A Bean?”

Finn immediately broke out into a wide grin. “I’ll drive. My truck has four wheel drive.”

* * *

Hot air blasted into Kurt’s face as soon as he stepped into the I’m A Bean, a stark contrast to the negatives that had just been whipping across his face not moments ago.

Finn stepped in behind him, and they both peeled off their scarves as they headed into the sea of McKinley High teens. 

Kurt felt Finn stall next to him, not even having to wonder why when he saw Rachel right in their line of sight.

He sighed and turned to his brother. “Go to her.”

Finn never took his eyes off her. “You think she’ll forgive me?”

“For dumping her to join the army half way through the school year?” Kurt shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not… but I know you miss her. And god knows she won’t shut the hell up about you. And it’s Christmas Eve and if I’m not having a romantic evening, someone should.”

Finn gave a self assured and thankful nod to Kurt before heading over to Rachel.

Just as Kurt was turning around to see if any other New Directions had shown up, he nearly collided right into Sam Evans. The blond boy was searching the crowd frantically, not even acknowledging Kurt.

“Uh, Sam,” Kurt began, eyeing his friend’s chest with concern. “Why is your nipple bleeding?”

“No time to explain, I have to go find Mercedes.” Sam answered. Finally looking at Kurt. “Have you seen her?”

“Uh, I think I saw her walking round towards the back of the building when we were pulling up. I think Brittany and Santana were kissing and she and Quinn were cheering them on, but it’s been a long day and I really didn’t have the energy to process all of that.”

Sam clapped Kurt on the shoulder in appreciation as he strode past him with haste.

Kurt shook his head in astonishment. This night was getting weirder and weirder. He almost considered going back home when yet another familiar voice called out to him.

“Hey, young Jedi in an ascot!” Puck called out. He was carrying a tray of ear plastic cups filled with some sort of mysterious liquid. “Would you mind heading to the supply closet and grabbing me some more cups? Promise I’ll ‘forget’ to charge you the next time you want a cake pop.”

Kurt laughed and readily agreed—and probably would have anyways, even without Puck’s promise of free sweets… though, he would definitely still hold the mohawked boy to that.

By some miracle of god, Kurt shoved his way through the crowd of tipsy students and finally made it to the supply closet. He rummaged through the steel shelves, coming up short on cups every time.

The brown of a cardboard box on the top shelf stood out amongst the clear plastic containers. Kurt reached up and pulled the box out, eyes going wide when he saw its contents. 

Faded green peeped out from a stack of (ironically) paper cups, and Kurt dug it out just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

“No way,” he mumbled before letting a small, breathy laugh escape his lips.

Forgetting all about the damn cups, he took the L that belonged on top of the building and started heading back out to the party so he could go put the letter in its rightful place.

Kurt was nearly to the door when he ran into an irritatingly familiar presence. 

“I thought they cancelled The L Word for sucking so bad,” Azimio sneered, pointing out the letter Kurt had in his arms.

The paler boy simply sighed. “And I thought Puckerman kicked your unveiled brain out of here and yet…” Kurt shot him a condescending glare. “Here we are.”

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you, Hummel.”

“Well, you’re not me, Z.” Kurt spat out the football player’s athletic alias. “Because if you were, you’d be graduating in the top ten percent of our class and then heading off to New York to attend your dream school that offered you a full ride.”

“You think you’re better than me because you got into college, huh?”

In that moment, Kurt expected to feel annoyance or rage or something a little closer to anger, but all he felt was… pity. Pity that someone like Azimio couldn’t live his life unbothered by someone like Kurt. Or that the football player would never understand why they were so different, but thought he did.

“I’ve put up with your crap for nearly four years in hopes that you’ll gain even a single ounce of human decency. In vain, apparently. So go ahead, do your worst. Because no amount of shoulder checks, or book drops, or locker shoves will change the fact that our lives are changing forever soon. And I relish in the fact that after graduation, I’ll never _ , ever,  _ have to deal with you or your ignorance again. So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, enjoy your last few weeks of high school because I guarantee that real life is going to make you her bitch.”

Kurt didn’t stay behind to hear Azimio’s incoherent muttering, or see the stricken look on his face. He just picked up the giant green L leaning against his legs and headed out the doors into the wintry night.

Immediately, Kurt ran into a firm, wool covered chest. After taking a second to look the so-called intruder up and down, he let out a startled gasp. 

He all but dropped the L on the snowy ground before launching himself into Blaine’s arms. “Blaine!”

Blaine let out an unprepared “oof”, before smiling and wrapping his arms around the Kurt in return. “Well, Merry Christmas to you, too.”

“What are you..?” Kurt trailed off.

Blaine just shrugged. “I snuck out. From where I was standing, a party on Christmas Eve felt a little less depressing than a hotel.”

Kurt swallowed nervously, gripping Blaine’s coat sleeves tightly. “I’m sorry for all the stuff I said earlier.” He chuckled and scrunched his nose up a little. “I’m especially sorry for using the word prance.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“For what?”

“For not doing this earlier.”

Just like that, Blaine reached out to pull on Kurt’s coat jacket and pull them together, their lips pressing warmly against each other’s in contrast to the harsh cold outside.

Kurt reached his hand up to cup Blaine cheek like he needed it for balance, as if it was the only thing keeping him standing. He pulled the other boy closer to him, as close as he possibly could, until finally they broke away.

They we’re both still, basking in the afterglow of the kiss, and smiling like idiots.

The flash of a phone camera brought them back to reality and Kurt snapped his head in the direction of the cafe, horrified. “Oh, shit.” He muttered. “Oh my god, they’re going to post this all over the internet I’m so sorry—”

Blaine cut him off in the best way possible: by once again pressing his mouth against Kurt’s. “I don’t care,” he mumbled against Kurt’s lips before barely pulling them away. “Let them take their videos. I want people to know. I want everyone to know that I’m with you, if you’ll have me.”

“Jesus, how is that even a question,” Kurt sighed before throwing his arms around Blaine and bringing them together for the third (but hopefull not the last). Blaine leaned the paler boy down and could practically feel his heartbeat through his shirt. Blaine parted his lips a little more, letting Kurt’s contented sigh into his lungs.

“So… are you planning to be in New York any time soon?” Kurt eventually asked, tracing over the decorative detail on Blaine’s jacket with his finger. “Because I know a guy going to the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts who might need someone to show him the ropes of the city.”

Blaine’s smile made his eyes crinkle at their sides. “I guess I’ll have to see where the New Year will take me, but I’m thinking of trying out this whole college thing. Maybe taking a little break from touring.”

“That’s a plan I could see myself getting behind.” Kurt mumbled before pulling on Blaine’s jacket and bringing their lips together once more.

Blaine laughed against Kurt’s lips. “As much as I am enjoying this—and believe me, I am—I have to ask: why is there a giant L at your feet?” He asked, gesturing to the letter resting to the side of Kurt’s legs.

A radiant smile split Kurt’s face. “Because there’s something we have to go do.”

* * *

His entire life, Kurt had never seen the L of the I’m A Bean sign light up alongside the rest of the letters. It was then—wrapped up in Blaine’s warm embrace after they’d managed to get the missing letter back up on the roof and strung some extra Christmas lights on it—that he understood why things could look pretty awful when you don’t have the whole picture.

Lima, Ohio was not a place Kurt wanted to spend the rest of his life. But it was where his father and mother were born, where he found the New Directions, where their little family came together.

It was where one Christmas Eve, he changed his life forever and for the better. 

It was where he met Blaine.

Christmas Eve might have been coming to a close, but there was still Christmas Day to look forward to. 

And by the look of their smiles, illuminated by the weak lights hanging on the L, a  _ very _ happy New Year.


End file.
